Fighter ability

Character Ability Description Bayonetta Bayonetta recovery frames Bayonetta will receive a variable number of landing lag frames upon landing, determined by the combination of certain special moves used and whether they missed or connected. Additionally, using an aerial or an airdodge may increase Bayonetta's recovery frames. Bowser Jr. Junior Clown Car Bowser Jr. takes 0.88× of the damage that an attack would usually deal if the Junior Clown Car is hit. However, if his body is hit, he takes 1.15× of the usual damage instead. In SSB4, Bowser Jr.'s hurtbox takes priority over that of the Clown Car, but this is reversed in Ultimate. Cloud Limit Gauge Cloud possesses a meter that fills up by dealing damage, taking damage, or using his down special, Limit Charge. Dealing 250% damage (150% in Ultimate), taking 100% damage, or using Limit Charge for 400 frames (6.67 seconds) will fill an empty meter. When the Limit Gauge is full, Cloud enters the Limit Break status, which enhances his mobility while active, and causes the next special move he uses to become much more powerful, emptying the meter afterwards. In Ultimate, the gauge is now visible on the Damage meter at all times; however, the Limit Break status now disappears if a special move is not used for 15 seconds after its activation, and Cloud actually loses some of the Limit Gauge if he is hit while charging it with Limit Charge. Donkey Kong Kong Karry Donkey Kong's forward throw allows him to walk and jump while carrying an opponent, and it also provides him with four additional "cargo throws". Heavy Item Resistance When carrying heavy items like crates, Donkey Kong can jump, fall off edges without dropping them, gains a small amount of super armor and prior to Smash 4, could walk faster than every other character could while carrying heavy items. In Smash 64, he is the only character that can walk at all while holding a heavy item. Hero MP Gauge All of Hero's special moves consume MP, and the move can not be used if there is not enough MP. It regenerates automatically when he has less than 100 MP, or when he attacks, recharging based on 0.8x the amount of base damage the attack deals. His down special gives a menu of four random spells out of 21 that pauses the MP regeneration and has a set MP cost for each spell, while his other three specials can be charged into three variants each, with the stronger variants requiring more MP. Ice Climbers Nana/Popo The player takes full control of one Ice Climber. The other one—Nana by default and Popo in specific alternate costumes—acts as a computer-controlled clone of the leader, who usually follows the player's actions and attacks alongside the leader with a slight delay, but acts on their own and attempts to return to the leader if they are separated. This further allows for an advanced technique exclusive to the Ice Climbers, desynching, that allows the player to independently control both characters. Special traction Normally, most characters have decreased traction on slippery surfaces. With the Ice Climbers, their traction is unaffected when stepping on slippery surfaces, due to them wearing ice cleats. Inkling Ink Tank Inkling's rapid jab, smash attacks, special moves, and forward throw will consume ink from her Ink Tank and apply the ink status effect, which will cause fighters to take more damage depending on how much ink covers them. With the exceptions of her down special and neutral special, she can continue using weaker versions of any moves that use ink if her Ink Tank is empty, though they will deal less damage and do not apply the ink effect. She can reload by either a shield + special input or by using neutral special with zero ink. Joker Rebellion Gauge Joker possesses a meter shown above his damage percentage that fills slowly over time, as well as with damage taken; the latter is more significant if his down special, Rebel's Guard, is used to block attacks. If Joker is attacked while using Rebel's Guard, the Rebellion Gauge will fill up 2.5× faster while taking 0.4× regular damage. Taking 75% damage normally, blocking 30% damage with Rebel's Guard, or spending 3 minutes without getting damaged will fill an empty meter. (These are default values; the Rebellion Gauge fills more quickly if Joker is not in first place.) When the Rebellion Gauge is full, Joker summons Arsène, who strengthens all attacks except for his pummel, throws, floor attacks, and ledge attack. Arsène also changes Joker's special moves to either be more powerful, like Gun Special and Eigaon, or have different properties, like Wings of Rebellion and Tetrakarn/Makarakarn. After Arsène activates, the meter works in reverse, depleting over time and with damage taken, and causing Arsène to disappear when emptied, giving him a maximum duration of 30 seconds. Kazuya Omnidirectional tilt attacks Kazuya has eight tilt attacks instead of the usual three, with the inputs including both diagonal and backward control stick movements. Crouching and Standing Attacks Kazuya also has four additional attacks he can only use while crouching, separate from his standard down tilt, three of which use control stick inputs, while the fourth is inputted by standing back up immediately afterwards. Rage When Kazuya is at either 100% damage or 1/4 of his maximum stamina, he enters Rage mode, which multiplies his attack power by 1.1, and allows him to use a Rage Drive (a stronger version of Heaven's Door) by either inputting it normally, with a grab, or a command input (→ ↓ ↘ + held attack/special, stronger than the previous two). Rage mode does not have a time limit, although it will end if Kazuya takes more than a certain amount of damage. This is calculated with ((Number of missed grabs or down specials × 110) + (Damage taken during Rage × 17.6)) >= 650. In context, with no missed grabs or down specials, it will take 36.93% to force Kazuya out of Rage^[1][2]. Can only be triggered once per stock. King K. Rool Belly Super Armor Several of King K. Rool's attacks—namely his forward tilt, dash attack, up smash, down smash, neutral aerial, up aerial, and down aerial, as well as his side taunt—have a special kind of HP-based armor on his belly during certain frames, negating knockback and halving the damage he takes if hit in that section, with the other half depleting HP from the armor instead. When the armor runs out of HP, King K. Rool is popped into the air (if on the ground), falls straight down, and becomes stunned upon landing, similarly to a shield break. The armor starts with 18.01 HP (effectively 36.02 due to taking half damage), and recovers 0.08 HP every 16 frames King K. Rool spends without using belly attacks. Kirby Copy Abilities Much like in his home series, Kirby can copy a character's neutral special move by using his own neutral special move, Inhale, and swallowing them. Kirby additionally dons a hat based upon the character he swallowed. However, some Copy Abilities function differently than the copied character's own neutral special, usually when said neutral special is linked to another fighter ability. Kirby can discard a Copy Ability anytime by taunting, or otherwise randomly loses it after taking damage (following a short "grace period"), or running out of resources (for Robin and Inkling's neutral specials only). Kirby can also gain some other fighter abilities, like Hero's MP Gauge, when he copies their moves. Little Mac Power Meter Little Mac has a meter that visually and functionally resembles the power meter mechanic found in the arcade and SNES installments of the Punch-Out!! franchise. The meter is shown above his damage percentage and fills by dealing or taking damage, with either 333.3% damage dealt or 100% damage taken filling it. When the Power Meter is full, his neutral special, Straight Lunge, is replaced by KO Uppercut, a much faster and stronger attack that can KO at very low percents if used on the ground, but is substantially weaker in the air. KO Uppercut is an unblockable attack (except for the aerial version in Ultimate) that ignores armor and cannot be countered, and it also grants Little Mac brief super armor, much like his smash attacks. The meter is emptied after KO Uppercut is used, or if Little Mac is sent tumbling by an attack. Lucario Aura The damage output and respective knockback of Lucario's attacks increase in proportion with its own percentage. In Brawl, the damage multiplier ranges from 0.7× at 0% to 1.4× at 170%; in SSB4 and Ultimate, it ranges from 0.66× at 0% to 1.7× (in SSB4) or 1.67× (in Ultimate) at 190%. The damage multiplier is further affected by Lucario's placing or stocks compared to the opponents', increasing if it is behind and decreasing if it is ahead. The aura ability should not be confused with the effect of the same name, which is a property of certain attacks where opponents temporarily emit blue flame-like energy after being hit. While attacks like Kirby's Copy ability of Lucario and Richter's Holy Water have an aura affect, Richter and Kirby themselves do not have the aura ability. Min Min ARMS Change Min Min can switch her right ARM to Ramram, Megawatt, or Dragon via her down special, which in turn changes the power and range of her neutral and side specials. Powered up Dragon Min Min's left Dragon ARM can become stronger, indicated by its larger appearance and flames billowing from it. As in ARMS, this happens after Min Min throws an opponent, though this can also happen once she gains access to her Final Smash. When powered up, her left Dragon ARM's punch and laser will both become stronger for 20 seconds. Olimar Pikmin Olimar has up to 3 Pikmin (6 in Brawl) following him, who take part in all his moves except his neutral attack, dash attack, tilts, neutral aerial, floor attacks, and ledge attack. Each of the five types of Pikmin — red, yellow, blue, white, and purple — have different traits such as health, damage, effect, and range. Pikmin can be killed by enemy attacks, by entering water deep enough for Olimar to swim in (with the exception of blue Pikmin, which do not die when Olimar begins swimming), or by crossing the bottom blast zone after being thrown, requiring Olimar to generate new ones by using Pikmin Pluck. Peach and Daisy Floating When the jump button is held in midair, Peach and Daisy can completely suspend their vertical momentum in midair and move entirely horizontally for up to 150 frames (2.5 seconds), giving them a shared unique aerial game and allowing for much greater horizontal recovery than most other characters. It is also possible to perform aerial attacks during this state, even while holding items such as Vegetables. Floating while near ground height allows both characters to perform aerial attacks where most other fighters cannot, and in Ultimate, attacks performed when floating are not affected by the short hop aerial multiplier, even when the float is initiated directly from a short hop. Piranha Plant Footstool attack If Piranha Plant is footstooled while crouching, it will automatically stretch upward and perform a biting attack, which has 4% base damage with vertical knockback. Pokémon Trainer Stamina
Each of the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon has stamina points, which starts at 100 and drops by 0.5 for every second they are in battle, while additionally losing 0.5 stamina points every time any attack is inputted. If their stamina drops below 40 points, the damage output and respective knockback of all their attacks is significantly lowered, with a damage multiplier starting at 0.779×, which decreases increasingly further the lower their stamina drops beyond this point, down to a minimum multiplier of 0.7× at 0 stamina. Their idle stances also change to a tired-looking stance to reflect this. Pokémon only recover stamina if they switch out of the battle with Pokémon Change, regaining 0.8 points per second they are not in battle, or if they are KO'd, regaining a much larger variable amount (determined by a formula of 100 − (0.3 × (100 − previous stamina), which results in them gaining 70% of their missing stamina back). This mechanic did not return in Ultimate, so each Pokémon can be kept out for an indefinite amount of time with no detrimental effects. Type effectiveness
Much like in the Pokémon series, each of the Pokémon has a resistance and a weakness to a certain effect, taking 0.9× and 1.1× knockback from them respectively. Ivysaur is resistant to water attacks and weak to flame attacks; Charizard is resistant to grass attacks and weak to water attacks; and Squirtle is resistant to flame attacks and weak to grass attacks. This mechanic also did not return in Ultimate. Rosalina & Luma Luma Luma follows Rosalina, who is controlled by the player, and attacks in tandem with her, using moves with different properties than Rosalina's. Luma has 50 HP (40 HP in Ultimate), and gets KOed if its HP is completely depleted or if it gets hit by attacks with sufficiently strong knockback, after which it takes 13 seconds to respawn in SSB4, and a variable amount of time in Ultimate depending on how many players are participating in the match. In Ultimate, Luma will gain a 1.5x attack multiplier whenever it is launched away from Rosalina. Ryu and Ken Fixed jump arc Unlike most other characters, Ryu and Ken's air friction value is locked at 0 after jumping, and thus they will not decelerate unless the player manually inputs the opposite direction. This does not apply to other situations, such as running off a ledge or being launched; in these instances, they will gradually decelerate as usual. Sephiroth Winged Form Sephiroth will unfurl his black wing when at high enough percents (with the activation percent being lower if Sephiroth has less stocks or points than his opponents, and higher if Sephiroth has more stocks or points). This gives him an increase to his horizontal mobility, makes his attacks deal more damage without any knockback compensation, gives him an extra midair jump, and grants damage-based armor to all of his smash attacks. He loses his wing upon being KOed, and might lose it after scoring a KO, though if his percentage is high enough or he is a significant enough stock or point disadvantage, the Winged Form remains active even after KOing an opponent. Steve Crafting Steve can upgrade his weapons at a crafting table, which starts off where Steve spawns, but can be moved with a shield + special input. The crafting table can be damaged and eventually destroyed by most non-projectile attacks, but will respawn after a short time or when Steve next performs a shield + special input; the shield + special input will also repair the crafting table if it is damaged. However, spawning or moving the crafting table will cost Steve some materials. The order of materials is wood, stone, iron, gold, and diamond, with each successive material being stronger than the last (except for gold, which is only as strong as wood, but is faster than the rest). Whenever Steve loses a stock and when the match starts, his weapons revert to wood. All weapons are crafted and upgraded simultaneously, and will prioritize the strongest available material to craft his weapons. Materials Outside of crafting and Steve's weapon attacks, Steve's down aerial, down throw, and the start of his side special all consume one point of iron directly, and his aerial neutral special, down special, and continuous use of his side special will directly consume any of his materials, prioritizing the most common ones - specifically, the order is dirt, wood, stone, and iron. He cannot use these moves that if he does not have the sufficient materials, with the exception of his down throw, which becomes weaker. Terry Super Special Moves When Terry's percentage is at least 100% in a stock or timed match, or he has no more than 30% of his starting HP in a Stamina battle, he can perform two super moves in the form of Power Geyser and Buster Wolf. Both moves can only be performed while grounded and with command inputs. A flashing "GO!" icon above his damage meter will appear when both moves are ready to use. Dodge Attack Pressing the attack button immediately after performing a spot dodge will make Terry perform a counterattack. This move is similar to his up tilt, but renders his entire upper body intangible and has a bit more endlag. Villager and Isabelle Net-activated Pocket Villager and Isabelle's shared grab can pocket items similarly to their shared neutral special. However, the item can only be released by activating their neutral specials normally. Despite Villager having the same grab in SSB4, it could not act as his neutral special. In Ultimate, an icon representing the pocketed item will appear in the top-left corner of the damage meter as long as it is pocketed. Yoshi Egg Shield Yoshi uses a Yoshi Egg as his shield, rather than a bubble like the rest of the cast. This shield does not shrink, and instead darkens over time to indicate the shield is weakening. While this shield can still be broken, the fact that it will not shrink renders him immune to shield stabbing (except in Brawl, where a small part of his hurtbox still pokes out of the shield), but is more limited than other shields depending on the game, preventing Yoshi from jumping out of it in Melee and Brawl, and from shield platform dropping in SSB4. In Smash 64 and Ultimate, Yoshi has all shield options available to him, making this shield a direct upgrade over others. Armored double jump In Smash 64, Melee, and Ultimate, Yoshi possesses a special type of armor during the entire duration of his double jump that subtracts 120 units of knockback, with Yoshi not flinching at all if the result is negative, or otherwise only receiving the knockback difference. In Brawl and Smash 4, this was replaced with standard knockback-based armor, with Yoshi instead taking the full knockback if this threshold is exceeded. Yoshi's double jump additionally lets him turn around without either multiple double jumps (covered below) or a B-reversible special move, giving him unique opportunities to use his forward and back airs. Zero Suit Samus Power Suit Pieces
In Brawl, whenever Zero Suit Samus spawns into battle after the transformation animation, whether it be after using Zero Laser, using the special taunt input to transform into Zero Suit Samus mid-battle, or starting a match with her, she will spawn with three Power Suit Pieces next to her, which then behave as normal throwable items that can be picked up and used by anyone. However, when Zero Suit Samus spawns into battle without the transformation animation, such as when played during single-player modes where the characters' entrance animations are skipped or when spontaneously spawning in during a multi-man battle, these items will not spawn with her.

Ability Description Characters 1-on-1 facing When certain fighters have one opponent remaining (counting teammates as foes if Team Attack is turned on), they will always automatically face the opponent, unless they turn around from a run or are in midair. These fighters have a unique ability where dashing away from an opponent causes them to briefly hop backwards before the proper dash starts, sometimes refered to as a back fade. This ability makes it easier to perform the desired command-input moves and allows them to punish rolls and cross ups more easily than other characters, but makes moves like their back aerial less practical and more niche. A quirk with this ability is that affected fighters while airborne do not automatically turn around when jumping over an opponent until landing. While not usually important, this does noticeably effect Terry with the player sometimes unintentionally activating Burning Knuckle or Crack Shoot because one would intuitively assume the other move would come out. This ability is also disabled when 3 or more players are in a game, reversing the aforementioned advantages and disadvantages, but if these characters are on a team against a single opponent, this ability is enabled. Luma has a somewhat similar mechanic that will make it automatically turn around to face another fighter within its proximity when separated from Rosalina, though this is not affected by the total number of players. Ryu, Ken, Terry, Kazuya, Luma (partial) Command-input moves Certain characters can access upgraded versions of their special moves or unique special moves by moving the control stick in a specific motion, then pressing a button in a specific window of time. While these versions are more complicated to activate, they are more powerful to compensate. Additionally, certain characters may have command input moves that do not have a special move counterpart. Uniquely, Kazuya can perform a command input without pressing the attack or special button, which will simply make him perform a Crouch Dash; the Crouch Dash can be cancelled in certain command-input moves depending from the timing and the button pressed. Ryu, Ken, Terry, Kazuya Crawling While crouching, certain fighters can move while staying low to the ground, allowing them to potentially avoid some attacks or projectiles. As when crouching, crawling characters only have access to their down tilt and down special as immediate offensive options. See this list Delayed double jumps Certain fighters have double jumps that have a short pause before applying a slower and constant upwards boost, controlled by animation rather than an immediate velocity change. In many cases, the jump is launched at from an arc, rather than straight upward. Depending on the game, the floatiness of such second jumps allows for several techniques such as double jump canceling and rising aerials. Ness, Lucas, Mewtwo, Yoshi , Peach , Kazuya, Sora Dodge leniency During some of the early frames of a roll, spot dodge, or air dodge, or in Bayonetta's case some of the late frames of Witch Time as well, certain fighters will perform unique dodging animations and take only half the usual damage with no knockback. Mythra's version will also inflict a brief slowdown effect on her opponent. The mechanic has different names depending on the fighter; Bayonetta's is called Bat Within, while Mythra's is called Foresight. Bayonetta, Mythra Durability Certain fighters' moves can only be used a certain number of times before running out of durability. Robin's four tomes and Levin Sword lose durability once the required weapon is used, and replenish over time once that weapon runs out of durability. Once any of Robin's weapons lose durability, it becomes a throwable item, but special moves and jab finishes can not be used if the required tome is regenerating, and aerial and smash attacks can only use the Bronze Sword if the Levin Sword is regenerating. Banjo & Kazooie's Wonderwing also loses durability upon use, and may only be used five times per stock, only replenishing back to its maximum once the duo respawns after being KOed. Steve's weapons and tools only lose durability if their hitboxes connect against other opponents or if they are used to mine; they can be replaced, repaired, or upgraded by crafting. Steve can use his fists as weaker versions of his regular attacks or as slower way to mine if a required weapon or tool runs out of durability. Robin, Banjo & Kazooie, Steve Gliding In Brawl, holding the jump button while certain characters are in midair will cause them to glide. This allows them to have an additional "glide attack". In Ultimate, Steve has a pseudo-glide that functions similar to previous glides, but it is his dedicated up special, Elytra, and he has no glide attack. Meta Knight, Pit, Charizard Grab aerial While no fighter can grab in midair (outside of command grabs), certain fighters can activate the grab in midair to attack instead of grab. This move is also sometimes referred to as a Zair, due to players typically pressing the Z Button while airborne to perform the move. With the exception of Luigi's, all grab attacks can also act as a tether recovery. Also unique to Luigi is that the projectile will still be launched if Luigi inputs grab in the air but lands before the projectile is launched. See this list Hydrophobia Certain fighters will take continuous damage while swimming, and will be in their drowning animation for as long as they swim. This does not affect how long they can swim. Charizard, Incineroar, Inkling, Sonic Mid-battle transformation Certain fighters are able to switch into a completely different fighter via one of their special moves. Most of them switch via their down specials, with the exception of Samus and Zero Suit Samus in Brawl, who switch after using their respective Final Smashes, in addition to Samus being able to transform into her Zero Suit form by inputting a Smash Taunt (though she cannot transform back into her Power Suit form through this method). While Zelda, Sheik, Samus and Zero Suit Samus were all split into separate characters in SSB4 along with Pokémon Trainer, Squirtle, and Ivysaur being absent, Charizard appeared as a separate fighter before returning to the team in Ultimate. In Ultimate, despite all characters listed here being present, the only veteran who regained the ability to transform was Pokémon Trainer. Zelda/Sheik, Samus/Zero Suit Samus, Pokémon Trainer (Squirtle/Ivysaur/Charizard), Pyra/Mythra Moving neutral attack Certain fighters can use their neutral attack while moving and jumping, in effect acting as their side tilt and neutral aerial as well.
In the case of Min Min, Punch does not act as her neutral aerial, but rather as her forward and back aerial, as well as her forward smash, grounded held neutral special, and side special. Mega Man, Min Min, Steve Multiple double jumps While most fighters can only jump once before touching the ground, certain fighters can jump two to five times without touching the ground. The amount of jumps is dependent on the fighter. Fighters with multiple double jumps can uniquely turn around in midair, a trait only shared by Yoshi. See this list Passive armor
Bowser's Tough Guy ability allows him to not flinch when hit by attacks that deal knockback of less than 19 units, such as Luigi's Fireball and most rapid jabs. Kazuya's Tough Body ability is weaker in comparison, specifically resisting only 14 units.
In Melee, Nana has 5 units of subtractive knockback based armor, meaning that she will sustain slightly less knockback than Popo, and not flinch from attacks inflicting 5 units of knockback or less. Nana, Bowser, Kazuya Passive shield Certain fighters are equipped with a special shield that passively blocks any reflectable projectile coming from their front while standing, walking, or crouching. The shield will not block projectiles if the fighter is holding an item. Link's shield in Smash 64 is purely aesthetic. Link (since ), Young Link, Toon Link, Hero Smash attack penalties While most characters in Ultimate can hold fully-charged smash attacks for up to 120 frames, Min Min's forward smash can only be held for 30 frames, and all of Bayonetta and Olimar's smashes, Mega Man and Villager's forward smashes, and Ness's up and down smashes can only be held for 60 frames. Additionally, all of these attacks except Min Min and Mega Man's forward smashes have a 1.2x damage multiplier when fully charged instead of the usual 1.4x. Mega Man's forward smash has a 1.3x multiplier instead. Bayonetta, Mega Man, Min Min, Ness, Olimar, Villager Smash-inputted aerial attacks Most fighters use the same aerial attacks, regardless of if the stick is inputted as a tilt attack or as a smash attack. However, using a smash input will allow Robin to use the Levin Sword for aerial attacks as long as it has durability (tilt inputs will make Robin use the Bronze Sword), and Min Min can charge her forward and backwards aerial attacks identically to a conventional smash attack. Robin, Min Min Special + Shield Input By pressing the shield and special inputs, certain fighters can perform a unique special ability. Inkling refills the ink gauge, while Steve summons his crafting table. Inkling, Steve Tapped and held attacks Ryu and Ken's neutral attacks and tilt attacks, as well as the neutral attacks of Min Min, Simon, and Richter, become completely different moves depending on if the attack button is tapped or held. In the case of Simon and Richter, their held neutral attack can be controlled manually to strike nearby opponents or cancel out weak projectiles, while their tapped neutral attack acts as a standard rapid jab. Nearly all of Bayonetta's attacks activate Bullet Arts when the attack button is held, which causes her to shoot bullets that deal 0.5% each after the attack animation has ended, and any attack where Min Min uses either Dragon ARM will fire a laser if the respective attack button is held after the attack animation ends. Ken can transition both of his command-input roundhouse kicks into a neutral attack, Inazuma Kick, by holding the attack button mid-move. In Ultimate, their held neutral attack and tapped forward tilt becomes a completely different moves depending on Ryu or Ken's proximity to their opponents as well. Ryu, Ken, Bayonetta, Simon, Richter, Min Min Taunt attack Certain fighters have taunts with hitboxes, effectively making them double as an attack. While most taunts in Ultimate can be canceled, taunt attacks can not. Luigi, Snake, Greninja, Kazuya Wall clinging A special variation of wall jumping where certain wall jumpers can stay on a wall for an extended period of time before jumping off. See this list Wall jumping Certain fighters can briefly cling to a wall, then jump off with a small amount of invincibility frames. Each consecutive wall jump is smaller than the last. See this list